August Empress

I came across this illustration on Pinterest created by artist kiwiTACHAN and immediately thought ‘that’s me’. I often replay past and future conversations in my head, wondering if I should or shouldn’t have said something, or imagining scenarios that never eventuate. Even when I’m designing I will spend too much time on the smallest detail while trying to get inside the head of a client, over time I am learning to try and go with my gut. I’m sure many of you can relate to the illustration too, and while you are overthinking your overthinking, here’s a little timelapse video of how the colourful ‘head explosion’ was created.

TGIF! Today I’m sharing a wonderful talk by Tina Roth-Eisenberg of swissmiss, where she shares her thoughts on being a Swiss designer now based in NYC, creating and building her blog and launching her own product TeuxDeux (she also created Tattly!).

Image via smissmiss.

Let me introduce a new series I am having on the blog, where each fortnight on Friday I will share a creative design related video. I’ve featured Dana Tanamachi’s work previously on the blog here and here, and for the first Friday Footage video here’s an amazing timelapse video where Dana creates the chalk artwork that will appear on the Nagging Doubt Viognier wine label.

There are a few more timelapse video’s from Dana showcasing her talent on her Vimeo page.

Images: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

The two photos above have been sitting in my home decor inspiration folder for a while now, and I’m sure you can see why. They both feature the artwork of Harland Miller who is well known for his large-scale penguin classics-inspired paintings, each with their own quirky title. I am completely jealous of Courtney Cox and her enormous authentic painting. I’m convinced I need a giant penguin book cover in my life/home and may just have to try and paint one myself.

Here’s a few more paintings created by Miller, you can view more of this work on his website.

Images: Time Magazine / Elle Decor / Harland Miller

Images: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

Yes, a redesign! It feels long overdue for me, my previous website for The Darling Tree didn’t change much since I started freelancing full-time over 3.5 years ago. Recently I replaced it with a temporary page which you see there now, in preparation for a whole redesign.

This isn’t just about the website, it’s also a new direction for my business and what I want to focus on. I’ve taken a step back to regroup and figure out where I want the business to go, who I want to work with, and what I want to achieve. It’s been a refreshing process and I’m excited to create a fabulous new website to reflect these new plans.

To begin the process over the weekend I created a little moodboard to establish a feel for the redesign, it’s a combination of handdrawn typography and graphics, watercolours and paints, a touch of nature, charcoal and white with pops of colour, and of course a little texture. What do you guys think?

1. Balloon
2. Doona
3. Paper Scatter
4. Watercolour Tags
5. Books and Coffee
6. Texture
7. Lines
8. Thankful Quote
9. Birds
10. Victoria & Albert
11. Watercolour Illustration
12. Moose
13. Gems
14. Interior Decor
15. Paint Strokes
16. Chalkboard Ribbon

One of the greatest sources of inspiration is the environment around you. I am inviting you to join me in a fun little project using our favourite app Instagram, to take photos of beautiful patterns you find. It can be in your home, office, your backyard, your city – whether it be created by a designer or by mother nature. Simply add the hashtag #thepatternparty to your photos, and they will all appear on the Instagram Pattern Party page! (It can take up to 30 minutes for your image to show up).

You can also follow me on Instagram at thedarlingtree.

Here’s a little inspiration:

By justinguyer

By kx3imberr

By teatreevintage

By susannahconway

By nailz_and_fashion

So get Instagramming and check out everyone’s photos too.